Chapter 49: Naruto VS Kiba Inuzuka
Sakura walked up to Neji.
"Wallowing in self-pity every day with the thought that 'this is destiny' is nothing more than escaping from reality!"
"So, stop saying uninteresting things like 'destiny can't be changed' with that gloomy face..."
"Neji, you're different from me. I'm just an ordinary person trying hard to shatter my destiny. You are the real genius!"
Neji was silent, not saying a word.
He looked up blankly. Through the hollow roof of the tower, he could see the vast, blue sky. Puffy white clouds drifted freely, and a giant eagle soared across his field of vision.
"I lost..." The genius Neji, who had never known defeat, admitted his failure for the first time.
"Indeed, you have already broken the destiny that binds you... And I am still a self-pitying fool who has been defeated by destiny." The failure Neji spoke of perhaps had a deeper meaning.
"You're talking about the destiny of the Hyuga main and branch families, aren't you? I've heard a little about it..." the girl said slowly.
"A caged bird, if it's smart enough, can use its own beak to peck open the cage door. Because they... still have hope, the hope of soaring freely in the sky once again."
"If it's you, Neji, as long as you still have such hope, you can definitely break the cage of destiny, right?"
The girl gave Neji a slight smile.
Neji finally let out a sigh of relief.
"The winner is Haruno Sakura!"
"Alright! Sakura-chan is so amazing! Way cooler than Sasuke!" Naruto shouted excitedly, attracting the surprised gazes of the surrounding crowd. Then, as expected, he was hit hard on the head by the girl who had jumped back up.
"Be quiet! Aren't you embarrassed at all?!" the girl said with a dark face. She didn't have Naruto's thick skin, to be able to preen under the stares of people looking at her like she was an idiot...
"Damn it, that hurts!"
"Ah, you brat, you dare to fight back? This is rebellion!"
"That's right! I, Uzumaki Naruto, will rebel against the fate you've forced upon me!"
"Jyejyejye, with those weak fists? You're far from ready!"
"Nonsense, you monster! I, Uzumaki Naruto, will mercilessly blast you to smithereens!"
"Insolent fool! To dare oppose me, today you shall die a most miserable, tragic, and inhumane death!"
The strange and inexplicably impressive lines that came out made the surrounding ninja turn to look at them. The gazes that were originally directed at Naruto as if he were an idiot now also fell upon the pink-haired girl...
The genius Genin who defeated Neji is actually this much of a goofball...
A drop of cold sweat appeared on Kakashi's head. He nonchalantly shifted his feet, moving away from them.
Why is my squad full of such eccentric characters... Kakashi cried a river of tears in his heart.
While Sakura was educating Naruto with her fists full of love, the screen had already updated with the contestants for the next round.
"Alright, stop messing around, you two! Look at the screen!" Kakashi wiped away his cold sweat and turned his head to stop their squabbling.
The contestants for the sixth round had appeared on the screen.
"Uzumaki Naruto VS Inuzuka Kiba!"
Sakura and Naruto instantly quieted down.
"Hehehe, it's finally my turn!" Naruto said smugly with his hands on his hips. "It's time to show what I can do!"
"Hey, don't be careless. Kiba is not an opponent you can deal with easily—"
Before Sakura could finish her words, Naruto had already eagerly jumped down from the viewing platform. "I'm going to take you down with one beautiful punch!"
"—is what I'm saying, but are you even listening to me!"
The girl sighed helplessly.
Sakura genuinely thought Kiba was very strong. Of course, not compared to her; after all, some of her ninjutsu were just too unfair.
But among Genin, a ninja like Kiba was undoubtedly one of the best.
Genin usually couldn't use too many ninjutsu due to a lack of chakra and relied more on taijutsu. At this stage, ninjutsu-type ninja were in a rather awkward position, while taijutsu-type ninja had a greater advantage.
Ninjutsu ranks were divided into S-A-B-C-D five levels. The basis for the ranking was the difficulty of casting the jutsu, not its strength or power. Of course, under normal circumstances, the higher the difficulty of casting a ninjutsu, the more chakra it consumed, and the stronger its power.
However, the ranks of ninjutsu were all set by ninja and had a considerable degree of subjectivity. It was normal for different ninja to have different views on the same ninjutsu. Sakura's Water Cutter Jutsu was often questioned for not being an S-rank ninjutsu because it didn't consume enough chakra, but from the perspective of casting difficulty, this ninjutsu was indeed harder to master than a general A-rank one.
In short, Genin usually only needed to master low-level ninjutsu from D to C rank. They were sufficient for supporting combat, but their explosive power and sustainability were greatly lacking. In contrast, the combat power of a taijutsu-type ninja was not so limited by a lack of chakra.
Kiba was a representative of this.
The ninjutsu he used—Beast Mimicry—did not consume much chakra. And his taijutsu possessed both power and speed. It was the type where if you were hit, you lost, and if you were grazed, you were injured. It was difficult to dodge and hard to defend against, making him a master of offensive battles.
In the original story, if it weren't for Naruto's quick wits, Kiba and Akamaru's lack of coordination, and that unexpected fart, Naruto wouldn't have won that match so easily. He might have even been forced into his Nine-Tails state.
However, the Naruto of this world was a different matter.
Under the brilliance of the two great mountains of Team 7, Sakura and Sasuke, Naruto seemed less conspicuous, but that also depended on who he was being compared to. Just based on the combination of shadow clones and low-level wind jutsu he used against Orochimaru, you could count the number of Genin present who could take that move head-on with one hand.
Sakura was certain that Kiba didn't occupy a single one of those fingers.
Logically speaking, as long as Naruto used a sea of clones and then continuously cast low-level ninjutsu, he could completely dominate Kiba with his vast chakra reserves.
But, as the number one most unpredictable ninja, how could Naruto use such a vulgar tactic!
—Or rather, this hot-blooded idiot, unless it was a critical moment, how would he have the cunning to think of that?
"This brat just can't let people rest easy. He would have won long ago if he just used his ninjutsu. Why does he love taijutsu so much!"
Watching Naruto engage in a hand-to-hand battle with Kiba below, Sakura rolled her eyes.
Kakashi turned his head in surprise. "You know that principle too, huh?"
Knowing she was in the wrong, Sakura immediately quieted down and stopped her endless commentary.
And below on the platform, the battle between Naruto and Kiba was unfolding in a brilliantly different way from the original story.
In the original story, Naruto, who lacked raw strength, repeatedly turned the tables with his flexible clones. But in this world, after constantly sparring with Sasuke and Sakura, Naruto's taijutsu level had far surpassed that of the original story.
This allowed him to face Kiba's strong assault head-on.
Although his chakra control was far inferior to Sakura's, with his exaggerated amount of chakra, Naruto could also enhance his body by recklessly squandering it, erupting with extremely high speed and power!
Thud, thud!
Fierce explosive sounds rang out one after another from below! The already dilapidated arena was once again ravaged by Kiba's Beast Mimicry and Naruto's chakra bursts!
Smack, smack!
Amidst the dull sounds of physical impact, the Inuzuka clan's signature ninjutsu, Fang Over Fang, was blocked by Naruto with his bare fists!
"The dead-last Naruto, when did he become so strong!" Kiba said in disbelief.
Yes, without even using his signature shadow clones, Naruto alone had withstood the combined attack of Kiba and Akamaru, and even seemed to be on the verge of turning the tables and suppressing them!
On the viewing platform, the brilliant battle between the two had already sparked a flurry of discussion among the crowd.
Some were amazed at their strength, some were debating the outcome of the match.
"So strong!" "Inuzuka Kiba is one thing, but why has the dead-last Naruto also become this strong!" "They're both monsters!"
"Kiba will still win in the end, right? Naruto is at a disadvantage on the surface!" "No, it seems Kiba has the upper hand now, but if it drags on, Naruto's super-strong stamina will become the key to deciding the winner!"
"That's right, Kiba has already used all his strength, while Naruto still has some left... Don't forget, Naruto's signature ninjutsu is the Shadow Clone!"
At this moment, a stormy sea was raging in Kurenai's heart. As Inuzuka Kiba's team leader, she had great confidence in him. She had originally thought that facing the dead-last Naruto was a lucky draw, but she never expected Kiba to be caught in such a tough fight!
The current situation was already very dangerous for Kiba.
Kurenai knew Kiba's true strength very well. The Kiba on the floor below was already performing close to perfectly, one could even say he was performing above his usual level, but he was still no match for the Naruto who had yet to go all out. She was afraid that the moment Kiba's offensive slowed down, he would immediately fall into a disadvantage, and even be directly defeated!
How are all the students of Team 7 so strong!
Kurenai's prediction was soon verified. After a few more rounds of exchanges, Kiba, whose stamina was severely depleted, finally couldn't keep up with the rhythm and revealed a slight opening. Then, he was hit hard by a beautiful punch from Naruto and knocked to the ground!
The momentum of the offense and defense was reversed!
After that, Kiba was completely at a disadvantage, with no power to make a comeback.
"The winner of the sixth round is Uzumaki Naruto!"
Finally, Kiba fell without any suspense under Naruto's fists. Naruto had won, which also meant that all three members of Team 7 had entered the final round of the Chunin Exams!
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